I’ve been reading some comments here and there lately posted by someone who writes erotic romance. She basically stated that erotic romance is akin to porn, it’s fluff and should be read purely for the sexual tittilation factor and immediately forgotten. That no romance novel could be considered a literary classic and in twenty years won’t be remembered.
Well I’m sorry, but I 100% disagree. I love what I write and it’s so much more than just hot sex meant to excite. I don’t write porn, though I have no objection to those who do. And to me there’s a night and day difference between romance and porn. What I write is romance. I write romances that are geared toward a woman’s heart and emotions, not her libido. I love my work. I love my heroes and heroines, their turmoils and struggles on the road to coming together. I love that part of my soul exists in every book I write.
I’ve laughed and celebrated triumphs with my characters. I’ve sobbed in the middle of writing a book, my characters’ pain tearing at my very soul. I feel every one of their emotions, and sex is such a tiny part of it all that to label my work as porn offends me deeply. Sex is the celebration of my characfters’ love for each other, only a small part of the relationship whole.
Maybe not everyone who reads my books will remember them, but if one person does, that’s a tribute that will stay with me forever. I’ve worked my ass off to gain respect as an author. Some will respect my work, some won’t. But I would expect my fellow authors to stand with me and protest the labeling of what we write as porn, not stand on the other side and label it as forgettable fluff.
How can you respect an author who clearly doesn’t respecft her own work, her own genre?
I read Kathleen Woodiwiss’ The Flame and The Flower over twenty years ago. To this day it remains one of my favorite novels. I’ve owned many copies of that book and read it over and over and over again. I will never forget that book as it was my introduction to romance, so don’t tell me that romance is forgettable. Anyone ever heard of Jane Austen? 😉